Venus

Orbit and Rotation

Averages 67.3 million miles from the Sun. With the most nearly circular orbit, this distance
varies only half a million miles on either side.

Revolves around the Sun in 225 days, rotates, BACKWARDS, in 243 days.

Atmosphere of Venus

Has a dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere, with trace amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrogen
chloride, and hydrogen fluoride.

Covered with a thick layer of clouds which are made up mostly of sulfuric acid droplets.

The atmosphere of Venus traps solar heat and has created a "runaway greenhouse effect."

Surface temperatures average 400 degrees C or about 900 degrees F.

Pressures at the Surface are about 90 atmospheres.

The Surface of Venus

Close-up images of the surface show that some form
of deposition and erosion occurs.

Thanks to the Pioneer, Magellan and Venera radar orbiters, the surface of Venus is now
mapped more completely and uniformly than the Earth.

Radar mapping from earth and from orbit indicate large valleys
and plateaus, probably craters, and large volcanic complexes. The plateaus on Venus are not
continents as on the Earth, and overall Venus is much smoother than Earth.

Topography of Venus

Geography of Venus

Venus has numerous volcanoes. Some scientists think the sulfuric acid
in Venus' atmosphere may be of volcanic origin.

Venus seems to have had a planetwide volcanic episode about 600 million years ago that
covered much of its surface and covered its earlier craters.

Venus and Earth

Venus is nearly a twin to the earth in terms of size and density.

Venus is smoother than the Earth and does not show evidence for two kinds of crust as
does Earth.

Venus and Earth Near Resonances

8 Earth years = 2922.048 days

13 Venus Years = 2921.035 days

5 Venus-Earth Synodic Periods = 2919.415 days

12 Venus Rotations = 2916.224 days

Synodic period of Venus' rotation with respect to Earth = 145.927 days.
4 of these periods = 583.7 days. This is very nearly the synodic period of
Venus with respect to earth. 20 Venus rotation/Earth synodic periods =
2918.551 days.

So Venus' rotation and orbital motion repeat the same configurations with
respect to earth every 2920 days. Almost. But they are not perfect. For example,
Venus transited the Sun on June 8, 2004 and will do so again on June 4, 2012.
But since the resonance isn't exact, the inferior conjunction date drifts and
there will be no transit in 2020 because Venus will be too far from its node at
inferior conjunction.

Dan Brown blathers at length about these cycles in The Da Vinci Code,
claiming that they are perfect. But they're not. However, they are close enough
to make one wonder if there was a resonance in the past or perhaps will be one
in the future.

Venus' Rotation

The animation above follows Venus and Earth through one synodic period. Note
that because of its retrograde rotation, it takes less than 243 days for Venus
to rotate with respect to the Sun. Also note that Venus rotates four times with
respect to the earth during a synodic period (i.e., the red reference line
points toward Earth four times).

As Seen From Earth

Venus is the brightest (Mag -4) and nearest (as little as 26,000,000 miles) planet to Earth.

It can get up to 45 degrees from the sun and rise or set up to 3-1/2 hours before or after the
Sun.